Category: Workplace

Employee experience can seriously impact your bottom line. The Employer Brand Index gives you insight into what talent really thinks about your company.

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Workplace

Job Interview: How to Answer the Greatest Weaknesses Question

Job interviews are stressful and preparing for them can be tough as you typically have no idea what to expect. There are a few classic questions that tend to come up and a huge one is about your weaknesses. It will sometimes be asked along with your greatest strengths, sometimes on its own. Everyone has…

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Workplace

The Cover Letter Format to Use to Get Your Resume Read

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The job of the resume is to get you an interview, but what if your resume doesn’t even get read? One way of increasing your chances is attaching a great cover letter, as the job of the cover letter is to entice the reader to learn more about you and read that resume.
 
A well written cover letter will help your resume or CV stand out from the crowd. A hiring manager, recruiter or HR person will be snowed under with applications such as yours and therefore you had better make yours be special.
 
The key question/problem the cover letter should answer/solve is “Why select you?” This means you have to clearly state what you do better than others, what makes you unique and how the reader would be making a mistake by not considering you for the position. Here are a few guidelines on putting together a killer cover letter today:
 
Details
 
Make sure you put the typical details at the top of the page, get all the details right and check them a few times before sending off.
 
Your Address
Date
Mr. /Ms. (Name of Employer)
Title
Company Name
Their Address
Dear Mr./Ms. (Their Name Again)
 
First paragraph
 
We begin with stating our business, basically telling the reader what job you are applying for and why. Let’s keep this short and to about three sentences, cover these points:
 
• Reason for writing and which role you are applying for.
 
• Drop any names of people you know in the organization here, e.g. “John Smith in your department encouraged me to send an application as he thinks I have the required skills to succeed.”
 
• Give any compelling reasons you have applied for the position or company. Keep it short and sweet, with the view to inspire the reader.
 

Second paragraph
 
Here’s your chance to tell the employer why you are the man/woman for the job. Bring out some of your most relevant skills and experiences and mention how they will be applied in the new position. Pick out three examples of major achievements and provide the story to back these up.
 
• Start out with a short introduction focused on your achievements and how your skills and experience will be a good match for the new job.
 
• Use the rest of the paragraph to support and back up your introduction. This is where you exhibit your evidence in terms of specific positions/roles/responsibilities and so on.
 
• Keep this paragraph punchy and designed to impress, not to bore anyone. Don’t write too much about one accomplishment that you are the most proud of as you don’t know what the reader will think.
 
• Wrap things up with the final sentence, repeat the job title and company to further position yourself as the right person for the job in the mind of the reader.
 
Last paragraph
 
• A short paragraph that simply mentions your attached resume, tells the employer you are looking forward to an interview and let them know you will be in contact by a specific date.
 
• Don’t forget to thank the person reading your cover letter for their time and consideration.
 
Sign-off
 
Sincerely,
Your Signature (scan this)
Your Name
Attachment(s)
 
Word of warning
 
A classic mistake is to use the same cover letter for all applications. This is counter-productive and the employer can spot it a mile away. The one size-fits-all cover letter will result in your resume being deleted before even opened.
 
For more on cover letters, click here to check out OneClick cover letters.

Image by SocialisBetter

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Workplace

3 Tricks of the Trade for a Successful Job Interview

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Here are three pieces of advice for your job interview: put your best foot forward, make a good first impression, look your interviewer in the eye.
 
Pretty standard fare, you might be thinking. You’ve heard these tips numerous times. But have you considered what they mean and how important they really are? If not, here are some reasons to do so for each one.
 
1. Put Your Best Foot Forward
 
The wording here is a bit odd. It implies that we have three or more feet. It would make more sense and be grammatically correct to say: “Put your better foot forward.” But knowing what it means is what really matters: To start on a journey or task with purpose and gusto. In other words walk into your interview with a determined step, a smile on your face, a friendly handshake, and expectancy in your mind and heart. Be your best self and trust that your authenticity will compel the interviewer to take a good look at YOU, in person and on paper.
 
2. Make a Good First Impression
 
It has been said again and again that the first impression is the last impression. How can that be true? People judge one another by what they see and hear first. It stays with them, regardless of what happens next. So it’s worth your time to express your true self rather than to try to impress with affectation and showmanship.
 
Hiring managers are looking for authentic individuals who are honest, open-faced, quick to smile and shake hands firmly, ask intelligent questions, and speak openly about their qualifications for the job in question. Be positive and optimistic. Show your appreciation for the opportunity, get to the point of how you can benefit the company with your skill set, and avoid throwing verbal stones at previous employers or co-workers.
 
3. Look Your Interviewer in the Eye
 
You’ve probably heard the saying, “The eyes are the windows to the soul.” And you know it’s true when you encounter other people. Our eyes sometimes say more than our words. So when you’re in an interview, look the hiring manager in the eye.
 
Listen and focus on what he or she is saying. And when it’s your turn to respond, hold your gaze and avoid distracting gestures such as playing with coins in your pocket or flicking your fingernails. One way to lose points fast is to look over the interviewer’s shoulder or glance around the room or stare at the floor when you and he or she are engaged in conversation.
 
Conclusion
 
The next time you’re preparing for a job interview, review these three not-so-secret secrets, put them into practice, and the wait for those six magic words, “we’d like to offer you the job”.

Fore more tips, click here to check out the Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Answers.

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Timebound Workplace

Craiglist and Indeed are the Best Places to Find Jobs

Today we had a chat with Heather Sanford, who is a jobseeker based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The reason I wanted to pick her brains on job hunting is that she is very prolific online and seems to know her way around social media better than most of us. If you think you can help…

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Workplace

How Do You Best Approach a Target Employer?

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I received a question from a loyal reader the other day. Let’s pretend her name is Ying and that she is in the photo. Ying works in the PR world and has been thinking about moving jobs for while now, let’s hear what she has to say.
 
Question:
 
“I’m actively looking for a senior in-house PR/comms role in a large organization. Given the current competitive job market, is it more effective to go through recruitment agencies or to directly approach target companies?”
 
Answer:
 
Ying already knows what role she is looking for and possibly what companies as well. This means there is little need for using job boards, this is a case of how to pitch yourself to the employer.
 
The market is very tough indeed and the best route to a new job is to get introduced to the company by someone credible. By that I mean someone the company trusts and that is willing to put their reputation on the line for you. This someone can either work for the company already, they could be a client or supplier or even a competitor.
 
In a perfect world, we would have great contacts at every company we want to work for. Whenever we felt like moving jobs, we’d ring that particular contact up and they would introduce us to the right people.
 
Some people have great networks and are actually close to this, but most of us don’t and have to look at other options.
 
Networking
 
By getting to know people that work for your target company, you will get a way in. The best way to strike up these acquantancies would be to attend industry events, networking evenings and using social media online to get close to the right people. Networking will take time and a great deal of effort. Don’t expect results to come in overnight and remember that being an effective networker is all about helping others and this way they will return the favor one day.
 
Recruiters
 
Using a recruiter basically means you are leveraging their network and contacts to get a new position. Some recruiters have great relationships with hiring managers and can smooth talk them into interviewing you, sometimes even when there is no position going. The recruiter route is quick and can be very effective, the downside is that it will cost the company money to hire you. By using a recuiter you are attaching a price tag to yourself, which for some companies can be an additional hurdle for you to get a job offer.
 
Networking, recruiters… which is better then?
 
I would say use both. The networking should really be an integral part to anyone’s career management. The thing with networking is that you never know when a good opportunity comes up, typically when you least expect it. With recruiters it’s more straightforward, they will only look at smoking hot positions that need to filled pronto.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments.